Act No. 87
Public Acts of 1997
Approved by the Governor
July 26, 1997
Filed with the Secretary of State
July 28, 1997
EFFECTIVE DATE: See act for multiple effective dates
STATE OF MICHIGAN
89TH LEGISLATURE
REGULAR SESSION OF 1997
Introduced by Senators Stille and Bennett
ENROLLED SENATE BILL No. 345
AN ACT to amend 1967 PA 288, entitled "An act to regulate the division of land; to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare; to further the orderly layout and use of land; to require that the land be suitable for building sites and public improvements and that there be adequate drainage of the land; to provide for proper ingress and egress to lots and parcels; to promote proper surveying and monumenting of land subdivided and conveyed by accurate legal descriptions; to provide for the approvals to be obtained prior to the recording and filing of plats and other land divisions; to provide for the establishment of special assessment districts and for the imposition of special assessments to defray the cost of the operation and maintenance of retention basins for land within a final plat; to establish the procedure for vacating, correcting, and revising plats; to control residential building development within floodplain areas; to provide for reserving easements for utilities in vacated streets and alleys; to provide for the filing of amended plats; to provide for the making of assessors plats; to provide penalties for the violation of the provisions of this act; to repeal certain parts of this act on specific dates; and to repeal acts and parts of acts," by amending sections 105, 109, 264, and 267 (MCL 560.105, 560.109, 560.264, and 560.267), section 105 as amended and section 109 as added by 1996 PA 591, and by adding sections 109a and 109b.
The People of the State of Michigan enact:
Sec. 105. Approval of a preliminary plat, or final plat shall be conditioned upon compliance with all of the following:
(a) The provisions of this act.
(b) Any ordinance or published rules of a municipality or county adopted to carry out the provisions of this act.
(c) Any published rules of a county drain commissioner, county road commission, or county plat board adopted to carry out the provisions of this act.
(d) The rules of the state transportation department relating to provisions for the safety of entrance upon and departure from the abutting state trunk line highways or connecting streets and relating to the provisions of drainage as required by the department's then currently published standards and specifications.
(e) The rules of the department of consumer and industry services for the approval of plats, including forms, certificates of approval, and other required certificates, captioning of plats, and numbering of lots.
(f) The rules of the department of environmental quality for the determination and establishment of floodplain areas of rivers, streams, creeks, or lakes, as provided in this act, as published in the state administrative code.
(g) The rules of the department of environmental quality relating to suitability of groundwater for on-site water supply for subdivisions not served by public water or to suitability of soils for subdivisions not served by public sewers. The department of environmental quality may authorize a city, county, or district health department to carry out the provisions of this act and rules promulgated under this act relating to suitability of groundwater for subdivisions not served by public water or relating to suitability of soils for subdivisions not served by public sewers. The department of environmental quality may require percolation tests and boring tests to determine suitability of soils. When such tests are required, they shall be conducted under the supervision of a registered engineer, registered land surveyor, or registered sanitarian in accordance with uniform procedures established by the department of environmental quality.
Sec. 109. (1) A municipality shall approve or disapprove a proposed division within 45 days after the filing of a complete application for the proposed division with the assessor or other municipally designated official. However, a municipality with a population of 2,500 or less may enter into an agreement with a county to transfer to the county authority to approve or disapprove a division. An application is complete if it contains information necessary to ascertain whether the requirements of section 108 and this section are met. The assessor or other municipally designated official, or the county official, having authority to approve or disapprove a proposed division, shall provide the person who filed the application written notice whether the application is approved or disapproved and, if disapproved, all the reasons for disapproval. A complete application for a proposed division shall be approved if, in addition to the requirements of section 108, all of the following requirements are met:
(a) Each resulting parcel has an adequate and accurate legal description and is included in a tentative parcel map showing area, parcel lines, public utility easements, accessibility, and other requirements of this section and section 108. The tentative parcel map shall be a scale drawing showing the approximate dimensions of the parcels.
(b) Each resulting parcel has a depth of not more than 4 times the width or, if an ordinance referred to in subsection (5) requires a smaller depth to width ratio, a depth to width ratio as required by the ordinance. The municipality or county having authority to review proposed divisions may allow a greater depth to width ratio than that otherwise required by this subdivision or an ordinance referred to in subsection (5). The greater depth to width ratio shall be based on standards set forth in the ordinance referred to in subsection (5). The standards may include, but are not required to include and need not be limited to, exceptional topographic or physical conditions with respect to the parcel and compatibility with surrounding lands. The depth to width ratio requirements of this subdivision do not apply to a parcel larger than 10 acres, unless an ordinance referred to in subsection (5) provides otherwise, and do not apply to the remainder of the parent parcel or parent tract retained by the proprietor.
(c) Each resulting parcel has a width not less than that required by an ordinance referred to in subsection (5).
(d) Each resulting parcel has an area not less than that required by an ordinance referred to in subsection (5).
(e) Each resulting parcel is accessible.
(f) The division meets all of the requirements of section 108.
(g) Each resulting parcel that is a development site has adequate easements for public utilities from the parcel to existing public utility facilities.
(2) The right to make divisions exempt from the platting requirements of this act under section 108 and this section can be transferred, but only from a parent parcel or parent tract to a parcel created from that parent parcel or parent tract. A proprietor transferring the right to make a division pursuant to this subsection shall within 45 days give written notice of the transfer to the assessor of the city or township where the property is located on the form prescribed by the state tax commission under section 27a of the general property tax act, 1893 PA 206, MCL 211.27a. The state tax commission shall revise the form to include substantially the following questions in the mandatory information portion of the form:
(a) "Did the parent parcel or parent tract have any unallocated divisions under the land division act, 1967 PA 288, MCL 560.101 to 560.293? If so, how many?"
(b) "Were any unallocated divisions transferred to the newly created parcel? If so, how many?"
(3) A person shall not sell a parcel of unplatted land unless the deed contains a statement as to whether the right to make further divisions exempt from the platting requirements of this act under this section and section 108 is proposed to be conveyed. The statement shall be in substantially the following form: "The grantor grants to the grantee the right to make [insert number] division(s) under section 108 of the land division act, Act No. 288 of the Public Acts of 1967." In the absence of a statement conforming to the requirements of this subsection, the right to make divisions under section 108(2), (3), and (4) stays with the remainder of the parent tract or parent parcel retained by the grantor.
(4) All deeds for parcels of unplatted land within the state of Michigan after the effective date of this act shall contain the following statement: "This property may be located within the vicinity of farm land or a farm operation. Generally accepted agricultural and management practices which may generate noise, dust, odors, and other associated conditions may be used and are protected by the Michigan right to farm act.".
(5) The governing body of a municipality or the county board of commissioners of a county having authority to approve or disapprove a division may adopt an ordinance setting forth the standards in section 109(1)(b), (c), and (d). The ordinance may establish a fee for reviews under this section and section 108. The fee shall not exceed the reasonable costs of providing the services for which the fee is charged.
(6) Approval of a division is not a determination that the resulting parcels comply with other ordinances or regulations.
Sec. 109a. (1) If a parcel resulting from a division is less than 1 acre in size, a building permit shall not be issued for the parcel unless the parcel has all of the following:
(a) Public water or city, county, or district health department approval for the suitability of an on-site water supply under the same standards as set forth for lots under rules described in section 105(g).
(b) Public sewer or city, county, or district health department approval for on-site sewage disposal under the health department standards as set forth for lots under rules described in section 105(g).
(2) The municipality or county approving a proposed division resulting in a parcel less than 1 acre in size and its officers and employees are not liable if a building permit is not issued for the parcel for the reasons set forth in this section. A notice of approval of a proposed division resulting in a parcel of less than 1 acre in size shall include a statement to this effect.
(3) A city, county, or district health department may adopt by regulation a fee for services provided under this section. The fees shall not exceed the reasonable costs of providing the services for which the fees are charged.
Sec. 109b. (1) An exempt split or other partitioning or splitting of a parcel or tract that only results in parcels of 20 acres or more in size is not subject to approval under this act if the parcel or tract is not accessible and 1 of the following applies:
(a) The parcel or tract was in existence on March 31, 1997.
(b) The parcel or tract resulted from an exempt split or other partitioning or splitting under this section.
(2) The proprietor shall provide the purchaser of a parcel resulting from an exempt split or other partitioning or splitting under subsection (1) with the following written statement before closing:
"This parcel is not accessible as defined in the land division act, 1967 PA 288, MCL 560.101 to 560.293.".
Sec. 264. (1) Any person who sells or agrees to sell any lot, piece, or parcel of land without first having recorded a plat thereof when required by this act is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000.00, or imprisonment for not to exceed 180 days, or both. For each offense under this subsection after a first offense under this subsection, the person shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000.00, or imprisonment for not to exceed 1 year, or both. Agreement to sell under this section does not include an option to buy extended from the seller for a money consideration to the prospective buyer.
(2) Any person who violates section 108, 109, 109b, or the exempt split provision of section 103(1) and sells a resulting parcel of land is responsible for the payment of a civil fine of not more than $1,000.00 for each parcel sold. A default in the payment of a civil fine or costs ordered under this subsection or an installment of the fine or costs may be remedied by any means authorized under the revised judicature act of 1961, 1961 PA 236, MCL 600.101 to 600.9948.
(3) Any person who violates any provision of this act other than section 108, 109, 109b, or the exempt split provision of section 103(1) is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction shall be punished as provided by law.
Sec. 267. Any sale of lands subdivided or otherwise partitioned or split in violation of this act is voidable at the option of the purchaser, and shall subject the seller to the forfeiture of all consideration received or pledged therefor, together with any damages sustained by the purchaser, recoverable in an action at law.
Enacting section 1. Section 264 of the land division act, 1967 PA 288, MCL 560.264, as amended by this amendatory act, takes effect October 1, 1997.
This act is ordered to take immediate effect.
Secretary of the Senate.
Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Approved
Governor.